Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

          My book is Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige. It is the first book in the Dorothy Must Die series. The genre is fantasy because there are flying monkeys, magical spells, and the story takes place in the world of Oz. Amy Gumm is a high schooler who has a difficult life in Kansas. At school, she has to deal with mean girls and punishments, and at home (her trailer), she has to deal with her delusional, alcoholic mother. Her only friend is her little pet rat named Star, who doesn't even seem to like her that much. When a tornado comes around, Amy and Star are swept up into Oz, where the world has descended into chaos. When she arrives, she meets a Munchkin named Indigo, who tells her what happened to the once beautiful Oz. Dorothy has become a tyrannical dictator with the help of Glinda, the Munchkins and other beings are now Dorothy's workers and slaves, and the Wizard is nowhere to be found. The Scarecrow is now experimenting on animals in a lab, the Tin Man is now a hideous machine who isn't afraid to kill, and the Cowardly lion is now a savage beast that roams the forest. With the help of some unlikely friends, Amy must become a member of the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked to stop Dorothy, and bring peace to Oz.
          I found this book very interesting and fun to read, mainly because I love the Wizard of Oz. The book gave a fun and suspenseful twist on the care-free book and movie. At the beginning of the book, when Amy first gets to Oz, she sees a run down, sad, deserted land. Then, she meets Indigo. Indigo tells her that something else was hidden behind all that sweet goodness Dorothy had. She wasn't just happy that she killed the Witch of the East. She wanted recognition. She wanted the people of Oz to see what she had done and became greedy. Amy soon learns that the land looks dry and dead because it is no longer filled with magic. Indigo tells Amy that Dorothy has the Ozians taking the magic out of Oz because magic powers Dorothy. Finally, Amy joins the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, a team of witches and wizards who work to bring Dorothy's reign to an end. In this twisted Oz, "good" and "wicked" have no meaning. Overall, this book was absolutely amazing and I would recommend this series to anybody who enjoys fantasy, twisted tales, and a bit of dystopian.

Maya K.